The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-06-02
A Pennsylvania Horror.

PITTsBURa, Pa, May 2S.-The latest
reports from the scene of the accident at
Horseshoe Bend, on the Pennsylvania
Railroad, last night states that eight
persons were killed and six injured.
-Four were killed outright and the Others
have since died. The ill.fated train
arrived at the Union depot in this city
at 4.90 o'clock this morning with some
ninety passengers aboard. For four long
hours q group of anxious mortals paced
up and down the passage. ways, lingering
impatiently and in awful suspense as to
the fate of their friends who had taken
passage on the fast line and were expect.
ed to arrive in the city at ,1l.55 o'clock
last night. Many were the injuries of
the depot officials regarding the nature
of the terrible accident, of which all had
heard, but they either could not or would
not give the particulars. Every minute
seemed an hour to the waiting crowd,
and when the shrill whistle at last sig.
nailed the arrival of the wrecked train
all eyes were turned toward it. Almost
the first person to. step from the train
was Miss McMahon, school teacher in
Florida, who was on her way to her home
at Beaver Falls, in this State. Miss
McMabon furnished an account of the
awful catastrophe that overlook the fast
line train. The story is best told in her
own words, as follows:
81 vas sitting about the middle of the
second coach from the engine. The train
was running at a high rate of speed
when the accident happened, and the
shock was terrific. Twas thrown violent
ly against the seat in front of me. The
train stopped suddenly. In a minute all
was confusion, and l was at loss to
know what had happened. l soon heard
ahrieks from the passengers in the coach
in the rear of the one I was in, and I
knew that something awful had hap
pened. raised window and looked
out. The sight frightened me. The en-
tire sides of the two coaches, Immediately
in the rear of the one I was in, were
crushed in. could see the passengers
climbing out over tbs coal cars lying on
the adjoining track. The passengers
who were not injured assisted in remoy.
ing the killed and wounded. 1t was q
sight that will never forget. Several
women in the car swooned away when
they saw what had happened"
j. H. Peach, of Bellevue, Mihain
County, in this State, was passenger on
the third coach from the smoking. car
and gave graphic account of the heart
rending scenes which followed the death
dealing crash:
II was sitting" be said, "about four
seats to the rear of Dale Graham, when
the trains collided. The entire side of
our coach was crushed in, and young
Graham was literally buried beneath the
ruins. Not moan escaped his lips, and
he must have died instantly, for he was
about the first victim we set about to re-
cover. When extricated from the wreck
be was lifeless. The side Of the car was
crushed down on top of him and this,
with large quantity of coal from the
freight car, had crushed the young mans
life out before any assistance could be
rendered. never want to witness such
distressing scenes again. 1t makes my
flesh culver when / think about it. The
piercing shrieks of the women mingled
with the agonizing cries of the men com.
pletely overpowered me, although when
the sad calamity occurred managed to
keep possession of my senses and aided
in rescuing the victims to the best of my
ability. We must have been running at
the rate of about thirty miles an hour at
the time the collision occurred and the
freight train l should Judge was going
about twelve mile an hour. The freight
train was heavily loaded and the terrible
crash caused panic among the passen-
gers. am surprised that three times as
many were not dashed into eternity